BOONE, NC - The Louisiana men's basketball won a dominant 71-55 victory over App State in the Sun Belt Conference opener Thursday night at the Holmes Convocation Center.
Sophomore Jordan Brown led the team with 16 points left with eight rebounds and two blocks. Brown was +22 in 30 minutes of playing time.
In his first game back from injury, junior Theo Akwuba picked up where he left off, registering a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
First-year goaltender Ty Harper recorded a season-high 12 points, took three rebounds and distributed three assists in the contest.
Second-year guard Durey Cadwell had nine points, a career-high, and five rebounds off the bench.
Louisiana used their breakneck pace to climb to a 12-3 lead. Ty Harper scored the first points of the game with a layup and buried a 3 to propel the Ragin 'Cajuns early.
Leading 15-7, Louisiana widened the scoring advantage to 18 behind a 10-0 run that was punctuated by a pair of threes from Joe Charles. Two possessions later, Harper logged on from beyond the arc to force a time out at the Mountaineers.
With just over two minutes to go into halftime, the Ragin 'Cajuns took a 24-point lead, their biggest of the night as Durey Cadwell punched one of his three triples and Akwuba converted. on the free throw line. As a team, Louisiana shot 42% (8-19) from downtown in the game.
Louisiana didn't give in until the first half bell rang and headed for the locker room with a 43-19 lead.
App State found some momentum after the break and opened the final 20 minutes with an 11-0 run.
Needing a spark, Cadwell came up with a pair of 3s that resulted in a 9-3 score in Louisiana that slashed the lead to 20 with just under 12 minutes to go.
App State slowly took the lead as the game drew to a close, but the Ragin 'Cajuns slowed their attacking approach considerably and collected points from six different players down the home stretch to close the win.
Louisiana will travel to Conway, SC to close the conference opening weekend against Coastal Carolina at 1 p.m. Saturday. The game will be available to stream live on ESPN +.
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